Kays Translations

Chapter 13: The Dragon’s Lair

Carried off by the dragon, I wondered how far she’d take me. Fear gripped me, but the flight ended surprisingly quickly—just a few minutes by my reckoning, maybe even less in reality.

The Dragon Witch landed by the side of a broken dam. A large horizontal hole dug into its flank had been turned into a cave-like lair.

The ground was littered with shards of glass, gremlins, old coins, ¥100 and ¥500 yen coins, silver accessories, and jewelry cases. It looked like the worst place to sleep. But for a dragon with tough scales, a bumpy “bed” probably didn’t matter.

And oddly enough, there was a faint floral scent—like perfume or shampoo. No trace of the beastly stench I’d expected.

Thrown into the lair alongside the stolen goods, I collapsed before I could even voice my complaints. My body went limp, and I just lay there. My legs had given out, and I couldn’t stop trembling. That flight had drained years off my life—no safety harness, no mental prep, just tossed into the sky. At this point, I think I could laugh in the face of a bungee jump.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Witch happily unloaded her pouch, tossing shiny treasures into her hoard. She buried her head in the growing pile, giggling like an overgrown child. What a carefree beast.

I tried crawling away, dragging my wobbly legs to escape quietly, but her tail slammed down to block my path.

“No escaping! Hmm… where was it… ah, here! Handcuffs!”

She tossed me a dirty pair of handcuffs with her front claw. Reluctantly, I chained myself to a nearby stone statue. When I jiggled my leg to show I was securely fastened, the Dragon Witch curled up like an oversized cat in the middle of the lair, starting a casual conversation.

“Dairi! I hereby appoint you as my Treasure Custodian! Your job is to polish my treasures, make them shiny, and craft even more treasures. In return, I’ll feed you plenty of meat and protect you from monsters.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound too bad… but I refuse! I’m not your slave.”

“You wanna die, huh?”

When I rejected her order, she bared her teeth and glared at me with murderous intent.

Terrifying. But surely, to her, I was a valuable treasure-maker. She wouldn’t just crush me on a whim… probably. Time to play it tough.

Even if she was a dragon, I could stand my ground since she wasn’t human.

“Drop the cutesy speech patterns. No dragon needs that kind of nonsense.”

“Shut up! I know this way of talking is cringy for someone in their late twenties. But after my transformation, I couldn’t help it—it just happened!”

“Really now?”

“Don’t you know? Transformations can change your body and preferences—it’s a witch thing! Like the Eyeball Witch, whose favorite food turned into eyeballs. She’s even got one giant eyeball herself—super gross.”

“Yikes.”

The thought was disturbingly vivid, like something straight out of a fairy tale about evil witches.

Then again, witches are real. I sometimes forget because the Blue Witch—who’s closest to me—is more like an ordinary woman in a mask.

Wait a second. The Blue Witch.

“Are you sure about this? If you keep this up, my witch ally might come after you.”

Feigning confidence, I invoked the Blue Witch’s name, though inwardly I doubted she’d really show up to help.

The Dragon Witch snorted dismissively.

“Eyeball Witch? Tsugihi? Hachioji? None of them are my match.”

“Even the Blue Witch?”

When I mentioned the Blue Witch, the Dragon Witch’s massive body visibly tensed. She nervously asked in a low voice:

“…You’re from Ome City?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Oh, don’t scare me like that! No way she’d leave Ome and come all the way to Higashiyamato. Even when Kaiju attacked, she stayed holed up!”

“Nah, she’ll totally cross into neighboring cities. She often comes to Okutama, and if this is Higashiyamato, then Ome’s close by.”

“What do you even know about the Blue Witch? If you’re not an Ome resident, she’s not coming to save you. That woman’s heart is ice-cold.”

Her response left me doubting myself.

Maybe she’s right.

If Ohinata-sensei were kidnapped, the Blue Witch might freeze all of Tokyo to get her back. But I’m just me—a business partner selling magic staffs. She had no obligation to help me.

She did want to prevent my skills from leaking to other witches, though… would that be enough for her to intervene?

“Anyway, no matter what you say, you’re not leaving. Just accept it. If you can process magic stones, then start with that. Make them shiny and sparkly!”

“You mean like cutting them to enhance their magical power?”

“What’s that? Magic stones are for beauty! They’re the world’s best gems! Your job is to bring out their brilliance!”

Oh, I see. She’s really just obsessed with treasure. Despite calling herself a woman in her late twenties, her mind’s as primitive as it gets.

She said her speech changed after transforming, so maybe her brain mutated and got dumber too.

Breathing heavily and glaring with greedy eyes, the Dragon Witch slowly stood and poked me with her claw.

“Turn around for a moment. I’m shifting into human form.”

“You can transform? That’s kinda cool. Can I watch?”

“Pervert! Go read some dirty magazines or something!”

“Oh, so you’ll be naked? My bad, turning around now.”

Clamping my eyes shut, I turned my back and firmly covered my face with my hands. Behind me, I heard rustling noises followed by the sound of a spell being cast.

“Though I bear this form not of human, Let me at least carry myself with human dignity, Oh sacred entity, grant me such semblance, As I pray, Karmaika…”

A sound akin to a balloon popping echoed through the air, followed by a gust of wind. After a brief pause, another incantation resounded:

“To soar through the skies, to breathe flames, A lizard transforms into a dragon, Nag-Nazg-Enienshoa…”

Once more, the balloon-popping sound rang out. Then came her voice, signaling me to stop hiding my gaze.

“You can look now.”

I removed my hands from my eyes and turned around. At first glance, the Dragon Witch’s form seemed unchanged from before the spell. But on closer inspection, the massive gemstone embedded in her chest—like a condensed flame—was gone.

Instead, the gem was now pinched between her claws, held aloft proudly before me.

“This is my magic gem, ‘Meteor Flame.’ You’ll craft it into a necklace for me.”

“I heard the Dragon Witch’s gem was something stolen—a ‘Blood Moon’ magic stone ripped from a dead vampire wizard.”

“That’s slander. This is the Meteor Flame. I picked it up in Minato Ward and decided to protect it.”

What a convenient spin. There’s no doubt she looted it.

Minato Ward used to belong to the late Vampire Wizard. I could easily picture her ransacking his lair like she did my house. Maybe she even took it from his corpse.

Thief or not, the giant red magic gem before me was mesmerizing.

It was massive—bigger than Kyanos’s gem, larger even than an Octa-Meteorite (which is roughly fist-sized). This one was the size of a small melon.

Though riddled with impurities, they refracted light in such a way that the gem shimmered like living flames. Fascinating.

Its shape was closer to an oval or a rectangular block than a sphere.

If I were to craft this into a necklace, it might call for a baguette cut or an emerald cut. Usually, gem cutting aims to hide impurities, but in this case, showcasing them might enhance the beauty.

Given its size, a typical mount design wouldn’t work. I’d need to draft multiple designs, build life-size wooden prototypes, and…

I was lost in thought, examining the gem, when I realized the Dragon Witch had been staring at me. I snapped back to reality.

“Ahem. Alright, I’ll take on the job of crafting this. But I need my tools back home. Let me go, and I promise not to press charges.”

“Your workshop is here now. I’ll have your tools brought over tomorrow. For today, work on the design. I’m going to sleep now, so don’t even think of escaping.”

She yawned and continued.

“If you’re hungry, eat one of the canned goods lying around. You can touch the treasure here, so long as you don’t damage or dirty anything. But the tomb in the deepest part of the cave? Lay a finger on it, and I’ll kill you. Bathroom and bath are down that side path—use them when I’m not there. The pink bottle of shampoo is mine; you use the guest’s green one.”

What an oddly domestic set of instructions.

The Dragon Witch closed her eyes and rested her chin on her forepaws, soon snoring softly. Though it was still early afternoon, she seemed perfectly content with her luxurious nap.

I waited for a while, watching her. Once I noticed a tiny bubble forming from her nose, I confirmed she was genuinely asleep.

Perfect.

Time to escape.

Though the prospect of working with the treasure here intrigued me, the idea of being shackled and forced into labor like a slave disgusted me.

Escaping poses one big problem: the shackles.

The stone statue chained to my foot is incredibly heavy. Carrying it while walking is barely possible, but stumbling around with it in my arms makes escaping an impossible dream.

However, I have a special skill.

I snatched a hairpin from the wig of a mannequin half-buried in a pile of treasure—a mannequin dressed in a lavish gown, no less. With a few quick twists, I unlocked the shackle.

Hah! Fool!

You underestimated my dexterity. I’m a man who could conquer the world with my nimbleness. Shackles mean nothing to me, you moron!

Basking in my victory, I tiptoed quietly, carefully making my way out of the lair.

But just as I thought I was free, a tail shot out and blocked my path.

I turned my gaze in fear. The dragon, her eyes half-open, was baring her sharp teeth and letting out a low growl.

Sweat dripped down my back.

I slowly backed up to where I had been, reattached the shackle to my foot, and jingled it to show her.

Satisfied, the dragon closed her eyes and resumed her steady breathing.

This isn’t going to work.

Is it her wild instincts? I don’t think I’m getting out of here anytime soon.

Help me, Blue Witch! Come save me already!

Evening came, the sun set, the night passed, and morning arrived.

An entire day passed, but the Blue Witch didn’t show up.

Instead, with the sunrise, a short and chubby man in a suit arrived.

“Well, I’m off to work. Zaizen, explain things to the newbie.” 

The dragon said.

“As you wish, Witch-sama. Have a safe trip.” 

The chubby man replied with a deep bow.

The dragon let out a huge yawn before flying off into the sky.

Apparently, she works transporting college-educated magicians across Japan. Guess she has a quota to meet today too.

Even a self-absorbed dragon like her has enough social skills to take on jobs from the Witch Assembly.

Once the dragon disappeared beyond the horizon, I kept my eyes firmly on the ground and begged the chubby man for help.

“Uh, excuse me… So, um, I was kind of kidnapped and brought here. Any chance you could, uh, let me go?”

“Ah… That’s a bit tricky. I’m Zaizen Kintarou. I handle administrative matters here in the Dragon Witch-sama’s territory.”

“So if you defy her and help me escape, she’ll kill you?”

“No, not at all. She’s a bit ethically challenged, sure, but as long as you don’t touch her reverse scale, you’ll be fine. This area isn’t the safest, but it’s not so bad either. Hmm… May I ask your name?”

“Uh, it’s Dairi.”

“Well, Dairi-san, you’ve had a rough time, but, as they say, ‘Once you live here, it becomes home.’”

Zaizen, the chubby man, explained various things to this pitiful captive.

Apparently, he was also kidnapped by the Dragon Witch. His name was “lucky” or “auspicious,” so she decided to bring him here. Like me, he had been chained to her lair but was released after about a month of behaving obediently.

Am I going to be stuck here for a month if no one comes to help me? No way—I can’t take that.

“The Dragon Witch-sama oversees the area spanning the cities of Musashimurayama, Higashiyamato, and Higashimurayama. Dragons are very powerful magic creatures, you see. Weaker monsters won’t even approach territory saturated with her scent. Even those that appear within the area flee quickly. And should a stronger monster appear, she’ll personally hunt it down.”

“Huh.”

So, she’s actually maintaining law and order, huh? Despite kidnapping me.

“She doesn’t mediate conflicts between humans or intervene in crimes, leaving that to local self-governance. So while monster attacks are rare here, that doesn’t mean the area is peaceful.

But our district’s biggest advantage is the meat. Compared to other areas, our food supply is much richer in meat. Dairi-san, I imagine you don’t get to eat meat often?”

“Well… Yeah. The only time I’d eat good meat is when I managed to hunt a deer. So, wait, does that mean there’s livestock farming here?”

Taking care of livestock and securing feed must be incredibly challenging…

“No, not at all. The Dragon Witch-sama hunts whales for us.”

“Whales?”

“I see, that’s quite significant. Literally.”

A whale is a massive sea creature. Just one provides enough meat to feed hundreds or even thousands of people.

Catching rabbits with traps or hunting deer by trekking through the mountains for hours doesn’t even compare. This is the kind of grand-scale hunting only a colossal monster like a dragon can pull off.

“Our team has a specialized whale-dismantling squad. They process the meat, extract oil, and use the bones as resources. These are popular items at the barter markets.” 

Zaizen explained.

“Wow…”

“By the way, do you have any special skills, Dairi-san?”

I almost answered honestly but managed to keep my mouth shut at the last second.

The dragon already knows about my crafting skills, but Zaizen-san doesn’t seem to be aware yet.

It feels like it’s a bit late to be secretive, but the Blue Witch drilled it into me to never flaunt dangerous skills. It’s better to stay quiet.

I decided to only reveal enough to avoid contradictions if Zaizen later spoke with the dragon.

“I’m a jeweler.”

“Ah, that explains it. No wonder you caught her attention. My condolences. In that case, let’s have you meet the retrieval squad later. You’ll likely be working with them the most.”

“The retrieval squad?”

“Yes, they’re a team that recovers precious metals, gems, and other valuables from ruins. When there’s enough space, they’ll also bring back medical supplies or other useful items.

The Dragon Witch accompanies them to areas without witches or magicians, where cities have been devastated. The squad spreads out to collect resources while she stands guard, so there’s little risk of being attacked by monsters.

That said, accidents like falls or collapses do happen, and monsters aren’t guaranteed to stay away. It’s a dangerous job.

Still, they receive extra rations, get to live in better housing, and have plenty of downtime when they’re not on missions.”

“Wow. For someone like her, she actually provides decent benefits.”

“I’m the one who organized them. If you ever have any issues, please speak to me first. The Dragon Witch-sama is… a bit, well, you know.”

Zaizen trailed off, choosing his words carefully.

Hmm. The region may technically belong to the Dragon Witch, but it’s clear that Zaizen-san is the one running the internal affairs.

Witches and magicians were originally just regular people. Not all of them would have been natural leaders, like politicians or business executives.

I doubt the Dragon Witch is putting much thought into this, but having a witch with overwhelming strength at the top while delegating governance to someone skilled in administration seems like a solid system.

On the flip side, districts run by muscle-headed witches with no political sense must be disasters.

As Zaizen-san said, the Dragon Witch’s territory doesn’t seem “so bad.”

That said…

This is far from my idea of paradise.

There’s too much human activity here. From the lair, I can see people just strolling around the residential area. No, thanks.

I want to go back to Okutama—my ideal place where not a single soul is in sight, as far as the eye can see.

“Um, this is awkward to say, but, you know, I was kind of kidnapped. I really just want to go back to my hometown. If I quietly sneak away, could you, uh, look the other way…?”

I asked for a favor a second time, but Zaizen-san apologized with a regretful expression.

“I’m really sorry, as I mentioned earlier, but that’s difficult. The Dragon Witch-sama has an exceptional sense of smell. Even if I let you go, she’d catch you in no time. She can sniff out the scent of prey from a great distance and even pick up on the smell of treasure, apparently.”

“Ah, I see.”

I see. That clears things up.

So that’s how she sniffed out the Octa meteorite while flying over Okutama. Even though it was inside my house, she caught its scent from way up in the sky. No way to avoid that.

A self-centered personality combined with dragon-level specs… That’s a pretty nasty combo.

Or maybe she became self-centered because she got those dragon-level specs? Either way, it’s bad news.

Zaizen-san promised to arrange and bring over tools for jewelry crafting before leaving, saying he had other work to attend to.

Damn it. He doesn’t seem like a bad person, and it doesn’t look like he’s particularly loyal to the Dragon Witch either, but it’s not like he’s obligated to help me escape.

Even if I tried to run while the dragon’s away, she’d just track me down like a police dog with her sense of smell. I don’t know the terrain here, and Ome is far away. There’s no way I’d make it to the Blue Witch’s house before the Dragon Witch caught me.

Ugh. Am I going to be stuck here for the rest of my life, working under her?

Looking at Zaizen-san, who was apparently once in the same situation as me, it doesn’t seem like I’ll be treated horribly. But isn’t this just Stockholm Syndrome? You know, where the victim starts trusting their kidnapper? That’s terrifying.

Don’t forget—she’s a thieving, abducting, imprisoning piece of crap dragon! Never forgive her!

Now that my chances of escaping on my own are gone, my only hope is for the Blue Witch to come rescue me.

I spent the entire morning fiddling with the red magic stone and waiting for the Blue Witch, but she didn’t show up.

She doesn’t visit Okutama every day, so it wouldn’t be surprising if it took her a while to realize I’d been kidnapped. But all I can feel while waiting is overwhelming anxiety.

Please, I’m begging you. Come save me, Blue Witch. I’ve never prayed so hard for someone in my life.

But my prayers were in vain. Around noon, it wasn’t the Blue Witch who showed up—it was that damned dragon.

Looking delighted, she pulled an ATM out of her belly pouch, dumped its contents all over her lair, and threw the now-empty machine outside. Then she casually struck up a conversation with me.

“So, how’s it going? Is the necklace done yet?”

“How could it be done so quickly, you idiot? I’m still waiting for Zaizen-san to bring the tools.”

“I’m so excited! Once it’s finished, I’m going to flaunt it at the witch gathering. Everyone’s definitely going to be jealous. Gwahaha!”

The Dragon Witch let out a booming laugh, but she noticed something unusual at the same time I did.

It was autumn—a chilly season where frost sometimes forms in the mountains.

But it was strange to see frost forming on the ground in the middle of the day.

The frost, which turned the roads in the residential area white, spread toward the dragon’s lair as if heralding the approach of something.

Even though her face was reptilian and covered in red scales, I could clearly see the Dragon Witch’s expression pale.

Meanwhile, I was ecstatic.

Ohhhh!!!

She’s here!

The Blue Witch is here!!!!!!

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